HRN to get hand scanner for test run

Officials will begin a test run of the device, which they hope will improve dormitory and campus security, in two weeks. and Jeremy Reiss High Rise North is about to go high-tech. In an attempt to boost security in campus residences, officials are preparing to install a futuristic hand-scanning device in the entrance to Hamilton House -- or High Rise North -- next month, according to several people familiar with the project. The device is part of a pilot program designed to determine whether it is feasible to install hand scanners in all campus residences. The cost of the project was not immediately available. The biometric reader will actually be inside a fully-enclosed, glass portal to which students and staff can gain access by swiping their PennCards, according to a Public Safety official familiar with the project. Once inside the portal, the student will place his or her hand on the reader to open the second door and get past the building's reception area. The portal automatically detects if more than one person is inside, in which case the second door will not open. "We're always looking for new and better ways to provide efficient, cost effective, high level security," said the Public Safety source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Sue Smith, a spokesperson for the University's college house residential-life system, said Hamilton is scheduled to begin the pilot program on November 10. She refused to comment about any specific details of the pilot, which is a joint project between the Division of Public Safety and the Office of College Houses and Academic Services. Eventually, Public Safety officials hope to use the portals to free up the security guards who currently swipe PennCards at residential entrances to patrol the campus during off-peak hours. The Public Safety official emphasized that there will still always be at least one person -- a guard or house staffer -- in the reception areas in case of a problem with the scanners, and during peak hours there will likely still be a second guard using the current card scanners to supplement the new technology. The source said there is no reason to worry about the system breaking down, but even if it does, technicians will respond on site immediately. In addition, the building would always be able to return to the current card-scanning system while the new system is down. At certain times of day, the official said, "we might more efficiently utilize the services of the officer while still providing the same level of positive identification." For now, use of the portal will be optional, according to Hamilton House Dean Roberta Stack. Students will have the choice of registering their hand prints next month. Stack said she was unsure of how successful the program would be. "We'll just all wait and see how it works," she said. For the duration of the pilot program, there will still be a security officer swiping cards at the entrance for people who do not want to use the portal, the Public Safety official said. "We're going to encourage the students to use the portal as well as the guard at the desk," the source said. "We would like folks to try it out and see what they think." Officials hope to get extensive feedback from students in the building to help determine the success of the pilot and the feasibility of expanding it to other residences. Emily Pollack, the chairperson of the student Residential Advisory Board, which has been involved in the planning for the project, said RAB is approaching the experiment "rather cautiously." "We want to ensure that student input is heard on this issue," she said, adding that the main concerns the group is considering are accessibility into the residences, the aesthetics of the portal and whether or not the hand scanners could cause physical harm. Meanwhile, several students in Hamilton House said they were skeptical about the need for the hand scanners. "I don't think it's necessary," said Barry Schwartz, a College sophomore. "It's not like it's going to be saving time." Schwartz also said that some students were actually a little scared of the Orwellian prospect of scanning their hands, referring to the fears that the government or the University can find out everything about a person from his or her hand print. But if the guards are eventually freed up to patrol campus, the program will be worth it, he added. Wharton senior Ron Sion said he was uncertain that safety in the building was a significant-enough concern. "I'd have to find out a statistic or two, like how many crimes have been committed inside the high rises," Sion said, adding that if the amount was not very high, the hand scanners are not needed. Officials have been discussing this kind of advanced technology since 1996, when the University entered into a buying agreement with Sensormatic Electronics Corp., a Boca Raton, Fla., security-equipment maker. Sensormatic partially manufactured the devices, but another company, Security Technologies Group -- which has a subcontract with Public Safety -- will install and maintain the equipment, the Public Safety source said. The University does not plan to implement the portals in non-residential buildings. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Danielle Lewin contributed to this article.